Category: Articles

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It’s A Matter Of Perpective

Steve Rowe

Was giving a private lesson to Kieran Evans yesterday and we were discussing perspective. I asked him if he was the centre of the universe or just a part of it. We often talk about how we are like a wave on the sea, we arise from the source, are separate but still made from it and when our body dies we return to it. The Tao Te Ching states ‘the space between heaven and earth is like a bellows, the shape changes but not the form”. But what if we turn that on its head? What if we are … Continue reading It’s A Matter Of Perpective

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Legacy In Martial Arts

Steve Rowe

As they age I think most martial art teachers wonder what will happen to their club and teachings when they pass. Legacy has changed as martial arts have moved from east to west and integrated. No longer do we have a style passed through family or club as the idea of ‘family’ and ‘secrets’ has largely been shown to be false and not work. It’s rare that sons and daughters carry the talent of an originator and even if they do, for it to go down through more generations is almost impossible. There are no secrets, as the formula for … Continue reading Legacy In Martial Arts

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Selfies…

Steve Rowe

I was brought up in the 1950’s and 60’s when there was no mobile phones or computers and internet. The gym’s we trained in were mainly ‘spit and sawdust’ and full of natural testosterone. A ‘selfie’ would be a term used for someone abusing themself with ‘hand to gland’ combat in private. Posing scantily clad in front of a mirror, male or female would be ridiculed and you’d get thrown out being told to ‘grow up and put some clothes on’. To be honest, I still think that every time I see someone cavorting or posing like a 6 year … Continue reading Selfies…

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Recovery & Rehab

Steve Rowe

It takes longer than you think to recover from injury, surgery, illness and grief. And you never fully recover, scarring and weakness can be physical, emotional and mental. And sometimes you never get better, only worse until you die. If you’ve always been healthy, often your mind and emotions think you’re healed even when your body hasn’t. Get back to normality as soon as possible, but it needs to be a new normal. Damaged and replacement joints are not like the original ones, illnesses like cancer and sepsis take a deep toll and grief has only eased, it never fully … Continue reading Recovery & Rehab

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Moving Chi

Steve Rowe

‘There is stillness in movement and movement in stillness’ – Yang Chen Fu This skill can be used in ALL martial arts, adding the internal to the external. Neigong (inner work)In stillness, (meditation and standing postures) we learn to open our body, opening the joints, fascia, lungs and empty spaces filling them with chi energy. We attach and harmonise our mind to our energy and breath (Sanchin, Saamchin) using our attention and intention to ‘follow our breath’ we stimulate and move the energy around the body. In the standing postures we learn to use intelligent and alchemised emotion to colour … Continue reading Moving Chi

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Abraxus the God of Effect

Steve Rowe

I remember journeying to Watkins books in Charing Cross Road in the 70’s to buy this book, unobtainable at the time from nowhere else. Apart from Tai Chi, Karate and Iaido, Zen, Buddhism and Taoism, I was also studying paganism, and ritual magic and had read Carl Jung’s ‘Memories Dreams and Reflections’ so this was a natural follow up as he had written it whilst being possessed by a spirit. As you can see from the screenshot the beginning very much followed the start of the Tao Te Ching using different terminology, but as you can see in the quote … Continue reading Abraxus the God of Effect

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The Magic Jian

Steve Rowe

We study the names of the jian (Chinese double edge sword) techniques in great depth. The jian is the ‘magical’ sword in Chinese culture (a bit like King Arthur’s Excalibur) and the names carry the mythology and cultural stories that go along with it, and most importantly, tell us the ‘spirit’ and mindset that the techniques are done with. They are poetic, they include real and mythological creatures, they are shamanistic as we take on the spirits of various types of dragons, gods, swallows, cats, wasps, phoenix, wild horses, lions, tigers, rhinos, apes, celestial beings and observe and copy everyday … Continue reading The Magic Jian

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Dying Dream

Steve Rowe

I was tired after a long day yesterday and sepsis fears must have been on my mind, but woke this morning from a deep dream. It must have been in around the 17th century and I was making a journey, where everyone was dressed in rags and the road was muddy and filthy, with a bedraggled army travelling the other way. For some reason I was hoping to not be recognised by them. One soldier driving a heavily laden donkey (he was about 40 yrs old dressed in rags, no uniform) starting dying from fatigue and could feel his life … Continue reading Dying Dream

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Professional Help

Steve Rowe

When you need professional help. When we want to learn martial arts, if we are clever enough we do our due diligence and find a good coach. We check history, who they’ve successfully coached, qualifications and what kind of person they are. It’s a serious and can be a life altering decision. When we finally become a coach, running a club means we have to be able to deal with grading and training programmes, coaching qualifications, tournament programmes, property management, accounts, recruitment, managing others, student welfare, social media, AI, our own professional development, governing bodies, health and safety and so … Continue reading Professional Help

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Your Belly Button Is Important!

Steve Rowe

Your belly button is important! Twisting the waist against the hips and releasing it is the biggest power source we have in the martial arts, but far too few practitioners are able to use it. When twisting the waist most practitioners turn either the hips or shoulders instead, either collapsing the knees and/or leaving the waist motionless. Kata like Naihanchi and exercises like Chan Si Jing in Tai Chi are structured to learn this skill. If you adopt an internally rotated stance like Naihanchi Dachi in Karate or Ma Bu in Tai Chi fixing the hips to face forward and … Continue reading Your Belly Button Is Important!